title: Pleiotropic roles of polyglycerolphosphate synthase of lipoteichoic acid in growth of Staphylococcus aureus cells.
abstract: Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is one of two anionic polymers on the surface of the gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. LTA is critical for the bacterium-host cell interaction and has recently been shown to be required for cell growth and division. To determine additional biological roles of LTA, we found it necessary to identify permissive conditions for the growth of an LTA-deficient mutant. We found that an LTA-deficient S. aureus Delta ltaS mutant could grow at 30 degrees C but not at 37 degrees C. Even at the permissive temperature, Delta ltaS mutant cells had aberrant cell division and separation, decreased autolysis, and reduced levels of peptidoglycan hydrolases. Upshift of Delta ltaS mutant cells to a nonpermissive temperature caused an inability to exclude Sytox green dye. A high-osmolarity growth medium remarkably rescued the colony-forming ability of the Delta ltaS mutant at 37 degrees C, indicating that LTA synthesis is required for growth under low-osmolarity conditions. In addition, the Delta ltaS mutation was found to be synthetically lethal with the Delta tagO mutation, which disrupts the synthesis of the other anionic polymer, wall teichoic acid (WTA), at 30 degrees C, suggesting that LTA and WTA compensate for one another in an essential function.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oku
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Sakuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Bok-Luel
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekimizu
mesh_terms: D017931:DNA Primers; D005784:Gene Amplification; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D005994:Glycerophosphates / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008025:Ligases / Q000378:metabolism*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000172:deficiency; D009154:Mutation; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D005994:Glycerophosphates; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D009930:Organic Chemicals; C402795:SYTOX Green; D013682:Teichoic Acids; C008964:polyglycerolphosphate; C009900:lipoteichoic acid; D008025:Ligases